The Messenger October 22, 1993

The Messenger FVANRFI ICAI MENNONITE MFNNDNITF CONFERENCE CONFFRFNGF EVANGELICAL

VOL. 31 NO. 18

OCT. 22/93 ?9/93

• The Church of the Future

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• The Management of Grief

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• East Paraguay Radio

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• Rosenort Fellowship Anniversary

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From the professor’s heart. . .

The Church of the Future by Stan Plett must confes.s with Amos that “I [am] neither a prophet nor a prophet’s son...” (Amos 7:14). However, my un­ derstanding of God and history leads me to the following conclusion: THE CHURCH OF THE FUTURE WILL BE A CHURCH COMMITTED TO NONVIOLENT LOVE. The church of the future will no longer be a servant of the state in its political and military efforts. The church of the future will rediscover the lifestyle and love ethic of the early church. Upon what do 1 base such wild prophecies? a. Is the church on the brink of a mighty moving of the Spirit? b. Is violence obsolete as a means of resolving disputes? Is it being increasingly replaced by reasonable dialogue, diplomacy and compromise? c. Is this an example of wishful thinking? The answer is: “None of the above!” The reason for my optimism is based on the fact that the world is becoming more and more like the world of the first few centuries after Christ. Interpretation of Scriptures has always been strongly influenced by the surrounding culture. Members of the early church began fighting for their country because the state changed its treatment of Christians, not because of new theological conclusions. The new theology allowing and eventually encouraging Christians to “fight for the state” followed, rather than preceded, this abandonment of nonresistant love. Unfortunately, Christians, then as now, tend to decide first of all how they want to live. Only then do they come up with reasons that help to justify their new lifestyle. 1 believe the world i.s becoming more and more like the world of the first century. (What I mean is that in terms of religious and cultural values it is becoming similar. The obvious technological differences arc superficial and not really that basic.) As this process continues, the church will also become more like the early church. What is meant, for instance, by “giving to Caesar what belong.s to Caesar, and to God what belongs to God”? The first-century answer was vastly different from that of most churches and denominations today. I believe that we will again discover the first-century answer. Two historical factors have powerfully influenced the church and its understanding of Scriptures. Both have left a deep secularizing influence upon the church. The one we are briefly considering here began during the time of the fourth-century Roman emperor, Constantine. Under his guidance the church and state established a long-term close relationship akin to marriage. Only in the second half of the twentieth century is that relationship in serious trouble. In fact, it seems the differences between the two partners are irreconcilable as one party, namely the state, increasingly wants a separation, if not a divorce. The so-called Enlightenment of the 18th century, associated with men like Copernicus and Newton, is the other major secularizing influence. During this time God wa.s removed

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from His ihronc and science took His place. The church unwittingly supported this switch in various ways. It has become increasingly evident that, though science can give us ever more fascinating gadgets, it also has a terrifying potential for widespread suffering and destruction. Because of this ecological and nuclear destructive potential, the Western world has literally been flooded with spiritistic and pagan ideas. Science, humanism and secularism have clearly failed to meet the human need. The overall optimism frequently associated with evolution and the God of “progress” is dead. However, in this article I wish to focus, not on the influence of the Enlightenment, but on the church-state question. There are a number of indications that the twentieth century is becoming more like the first. 1. Widespread Paganism First of all, the early church grew in a pagan society. The Roman government was committed to wiping out the Christian church. Partly because of the tension between the state and church there was little temptation for church members to join the army. Because of this tension, firstcentury Christians had no trouble understanding the Bible to teach nonresistant love, .loining the Roman army also required worshipping Caesar. This or any other form of idolatry for the Christian was totally unacceptable. (It should be noted, however, that the noted Lutheran Church historian, Roland Bainton, insists that the reason the early church did not fight for its country, was not because it involved emperor worship. Rather, early believers saw an obvious contradiction between love and killing. Sec ChrisHan Atiiiudes Toward War and Peace, p. 77.) Bainton argues that there is no evidence of any Christians in the armed forces during the first 200 years of church life. For the first .300 years of the Christian era there were no Christian authors who approved of Christian participation in battle. We are not here explaining why this was true or why this united position gradually changed. We do know that once Christians began enlisting in the armed forces, theologians soon found reasons to justify this change. The great theologian, Augustine, summarized and articulated these arguments in what is referred to as The Jus! War Theory. I am simply suggesting that the same reasons why Christians refused to serve in the military during the first few hundred years of the Christian era arc again increasingly evident in today’s society. On the other hand, the reasons why Christians began to enlist in the armed forces apply less and less in today’s society.

2. Conslanline and (he Church-S(a(e Union Early in the fourth century it was evident that the emperor’s policies toward the church had failed. In spite of persecution, it had grown in strength and numbers. What to do? The emperor could either exhaust imperial energies by fighting the church, or seek to gain its support. He chose the latter. The church was given a variety of state benefits. Christianity THE MESSENGER

“/ believe the church of the future will he a church committed to the nonviolent love exemplified and taught by our Lord . . . Signs indicate that God will use an increasingly pagan state to help bring the church to its senses. ” became “respeclable.” National institutions were provided with a religious foundation. Increasingly, the legal system, national constitution.s and culture were intluenced by the Christian religion. Christianity became the state religion. The church became extremely wealthy. Of course, the church lost much in this arrangement. It fell increasingly under the control of the state. Christians were expected to place the nation and its defence as a high priority. In spite of our claims of church-state separation, this church-state partnership, often referred to as The Constantinian Synthesis, after the Roman emperor Constantine, has lasted well into the present age. Prayer in schools, chaplain.s in prisons and in the military, Sunday observance, the biblical foundations to our legal system, all point to the influence of Christianity. Whether this kind of civil religion was in fact supportive of biblical Christianity or not is another question. In spite of the American emphasis on separation of church and state, there ha.s clearly been a kind of “marriage” of the two. This is illustrated by the inevitable “blessing” of the church on any wars with which the nation found itself involved. In spite of the lofty Just War Theory, which spells out and limits wars that Christians can in good conscience be involved in, history shows a sad lack of Christian discernment between “just” and “unjust” wars. The Western Church has responded with knee-jerk predictability to each and every American war effort. Billy Graham, for instance, is a man who has been mightily used of God. In fact, he seems to be personally moving toward at least nuclear pacifism. However, his public prayer for President Bush on the eve of Desert Storm in the Iraq war illustrates this Church/State union. Whatever his personal motivation may have been, to the church it signalled a kind of “Protestant Papal” blessing of Desert Storm. By such automatic support of militarism, the church remained socially respectable at great cost. 3. The Post-Constantinian World Although there are many remaining remnants of Constantine’s influence, I believe we are well into what might be referred to as a Post-Constantinian world. The state in Canada and the United States has by and large decided that it no longer needs the church. As occasionally happens to an unwanted spouse, the church i,s being kicked out! Secular society is in the process of eliminating the last reminders of its Christian heritage. Sunday shopping, abortion on demand, gambling and the gay lifestyle, for instance, are all increasingly accepted in today’s society. The marriage of state and church has faced many rocky and tense situations, but presently it seems beyond repair. No counselling can patch up the dysfunctional relationship. In fact, let’s face it, the relationship is over. The church has been given the boot. Of course, in many ways what I have described is bad news. The state, a reflection of society at large, is becoming aggressively anti-Christian. All but the most compromising Christian will soon find it extremely uncomfortable to serve in government. However, for those of us who feel that the church is to be a radical alternative culture, this divorce has its bright side. I quote Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon to illustrate this “good news”: “The demise of the Constantinian world view, the gradual decline of the notion that the church needs some sort of surrounding ’Christian’ culture to prop it up and mould its young, is not a death to lament. It is the opportunity to celebrate” (Resident Aliens, p. 18).

OCTOBER 22, 1993

4. The Changing Global Church The fact that the church as a vibrant spiritual force is a dying one in the West, while dynamic, alive and growing in so much of the Third World, will further help us rediscover nonresistant love. As long as “Christian America” could be shown to be fighting the “pagan hordes,” the Constantinian church-state union remained strong. It will become increasingly difficult for Christian.s in what is becoming the pagan West to justify the killing of their brothers and sisters “in the name of Christ.” Thus, I believe that the tested church, the faithful remnant that will emerge from the fires of testing, will be, like the early church, a pacifist church. It will again rediscover the proper distinctions between what believers owe Caesar and what they owe God. In the midst of these prophetic musings I picked up the July 19 issue of Christianity Today. Various articles in that periodical illustrate the differences between Constantinian and post-Constantinian Christianity. In “The City That Wouldn’t Say Amen,” Tim Stafford bemoans the fact that the public mood of Santa Rosa, California, opposed city council prayers. Dave Berto, a Christian councillor, suggested opening council meetings with an invocation “as one small way to bring respect for God back into the civic realm.” Nondenominational prayers, acceptable to a wide constituency of Americans, were suggested. Leaders of various religious groups holding at least vaguely to the Judeo-Christian idea of God were invited to lead such prayers. Whether one sees this as the task of the church or not, this is Civil Religion and this is Constantinianism. The citizens of Santa Rosa would have none of it. Another article in the same issue describes the adjusted vision of Ed Dobson, a former leader of the Moral Majority. He has recently concluded that attempting to save America through Christian political involvement is futile. In effect he says, “Forget the nation and renew the church.” The church he serves is involved in a meaningful, politically non-partisan ministry to homosexuals. He ha,s discovered, for the church, tremendous opportunities to minister by keeping out of political involvement. A third article in the same issue by Charles Colson is titled “Sweet Reason and Holy Outrage.” Colson, one of America’s leading Christian statesmen, is still somewhat preoccupied with the Constantinian task of creating what he calls a national consensus. The church needs to be involved in “preserving the moral consensus” without which, he argues, a nation cannot exist. Therefore he challenges the church to be involved politically in this important task. However, he does have at least one foot in the modern post-Constantinian world as he admits that “we need to live as a holy community...” He briefly explores how the modern church can be a “witnessing community.” I believe the church of the future will be a church committed to the nonviolent love exemplified and taught by our Lord. Unfortunately there is little indication that this will come about directly by widespread spiritual renewal. Signs indicate that God will use an increasingly pagan state to help bring the church to its senses. As the state eliminates the last reminders of its Christian past, the church is left without political clout. Thus will the church again discover its true identity and its true mission. Sian Plett is the president of Steinbach Bible College. He and his wife, Elma, have five grown children and attend the Evangelical Fellowship Church (EMC) in Steinbach, Man.

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Record Amount of Grain Donated

Curriculum on Peace for Youth WINNIPEG. Man. - Five Canadian Confer­ ences and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada are working together to cre­ ate Sunday school curriculum on peace for youth. The five Conferences include the Canadi­ an Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, the Conference of Mennonites in Canada, the Brethren in Christ, the Evangeli­ cal Mennonite Conference and the Mennonite Conference of Eastern Canada. The curriculum, which will be aimed at high school youth, will be written by Christine Neu­ feld of Winnipeg. Neufeld, a recent graduate of the University of Manitoba, is serving as a volunteer with the project and at Project Peacemakers, a religiously based peace group in Winnipeg. Neufeld will be mentored by Jon Bonk, professor of missions at Providence College in Otterburne, Man., and author of the book The World at War. the Church at Peace. The curriculum, which will include a teacher's guide, will be published by Faith and Life Press. It is expected to be ready early in 1995. Topics to be covered in the curriculum will include an introduction to biblical peacemak­ ing, Anabaptist peace theology, family vio­ lence. racism, crime, lifestyle issues and conscientious objection in the 1990s. Gordon Kroeker of Winnipeg represents the E. M. Conference on the consultation com­ mittee.

Sophia: a Women's Magazine Sophia, a women's magazine published three times a year by a group of Mennonite Brethren women in Winnipeg, has complet­ ed one year of publication. The magazine is a forum for Mennonite Brethren women, providing room where they can spea'K to each other about their place in the family, the church, the workplace and the world. However, Sophia is not exclusive and hopes to be of interest to women and men wi­ thin and outside of the M.B. church. Sophia’s publisher is Ester DeFehr. The ediCOMING EVENTS October 28 & 30 Eden Foundation Banquets 28 — Steinbach 30 -- Altona Phone: (204) 325-5355 October 28 - 30 MCC Canada and Alberta Annual Meetings Calgary, Alta. Phone: (204) 261-6381 or (403) 275-6935 October 29 - 30 Writers' Conference Wordpower '93 Columbia Bible College Clearbrook, B.C. Phone: (604) 853-6959 October 31 Region 3 Annual Conference Birch River, Man. Speaker: Jake Rempel Phone: (204) 236-4370

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WINNIPEG, Man. — For the third year in a row. Canadian farmers have donated a record amount of grain to the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada account in the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB). According to Ron Bietz, who directs MCC

Intermenno Appointment AKRON, Pa. — Bruce Thiessen is one of thirty-one North American young people who have begun a year in Europe with the Intermenno Trainee program, following an orientation at Men­ nonite Central Com­ mittee headquarters here. Intermenno is an ex­ change program with Europe, in which par­ Bruce Thiessen ticipants spend a year in a European country, working and living with European Mennonites. learning to know Eu­ ropeans firsthand. Bruce has been assigned to Berlikum, the Netherlands, where he will work in a green­ house raising peppers. He will probably move to another placement in the same country for the second half of the year. He attended the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg and is a member of the Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church there. His par­ ents are Arnold and Lois Thiessen. tor, Sarah Klassen, is assisted by Eleanor Mar­ tens and Lori Matties. Themes of the first four issues were: Wom­ en and Work. Faith of Our Mothers, Caring For Each Other and Imagining a Better World. The winter 1994 issue will be entitled “Spirituality." Current circulation is over 300. Subscrip­ tion rates are: $9.00 for three issues, $17.00 for six issues and $4.00 per single issue. Enquiries may be directed to: Sophia. P.O. Box 29062, 1453 Henderson Highway, Win­ nipeg. Manitoba R2G 4E9.

November 12-13 Annual Meeting MCC Saskatchewan Parliament Community Church Regina, Sask. Phone: (306) 665-2555 November 12-13 EMCup Hockey Tournament Phone: (204) 257-1682 November 14 Annual Banquet Camps With Meaning Morris. Man. Speaker: Peter J. Dyck Phone: (204) 896-1616 November 11-14 MEDA Annual Convention (Mennonite Economic Development Associates) Holiday Inn, Toronto, Ont. Phone: 1-800-723-6549

November 19 Teachers' Conference Manitoba Association of Christian Schools Portage la Prairie. Man. Phone: (204) 857-3726 or (204) 364-2466 November 19-21 Youth Aiive Steinbach Bible College Steinbach. Man. Phone: (204) 326-6451 November 26-27 Annual Meeting MCC Manitoba Evangelical Mennonite Church Blumenort. Man. Phone: (204) 261-6381 December 4 Conference Council Meeting Prairie Rose EMC Landmark, Man. Phone: (204) 326-6401

Canada’s food program, a total of 10,250 tonnes worth $1.3 million was donated by over 1,000 Canadian farmers, up from 8,720 tonnes last year. The grain donated to MCC Canada is 46 percent of the total received by the CFGB on behalf of its 12 partners. In the past 12 months MCC Canada has shipped 16,500 tonnes of grain worth $7 mil­ lion to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Sudan, India, Iran, Somalia and Ethiopia. Ad­ ditionally, the agency sent milk powder worth $520,000 to India, Bangladesh, Egypt, West Bank, Sudan, Kenya. Iraq and Haiti; clothing, quilts, school kits, bandages, health kits and wheel chairs worth $343,930 to Russia, Le banon and Nicaragua; as well as other foodrelated assistance worth $542,000. Some of the responses were made possi­ ble by support from the Canadian Internation­ al Development Agency (CIDA).

Teachers’ Conference November 19, 1993 Portage la Prairie, Man. Speakers include Al Friesen and Chuck Nichols

Manitoba Association of Christian Schools

For more information call: Wayne Sawatzky at 857-3726, or Tim Reimer at 364-2466

CONTRIBUTORS: Leona and Peter Penner (Aberdeen) are in South Africa as MCC country representatives. Benny and Esther Goertzen (Filadelfia EMB) are involved in radio work in Paraguay.

COVER: A dairy farm in central Wisconsin (by the editor). CHRISTMAS MATERIALS

Stories, poems and photos are needed for the Christmas issue of The Messenger. They must be received by November 25.

THE MESSENGER is published every other week by The Evangelical Mennonite Conference Board of Church Ministries, Box 1268, Stein­ bach, Manitoba ROA 2A0. Second Class Mail; Registration Number 0591. Undelivered copies, change of address and new subscriptions should be mailed to the above address. The Messenger is a member of Meetinghouse and Canadian Church Press. Editor: Menno Hamm Phone: (204) 326-6401; Fax (204) 326-1613

THE MESSENGER

VISION =

YOUTH Living and Sharing the Good News I Thess. 14,5

^.\EMC Students Tap the Power of Prayer

The “See You At The Pole” concept, begun in the United States a few years ago, has spread to eight countries, says Lou Leventhal, who promoted the event in Texas, where it started, and now pastors a church in Saskatoon. In Canada, the event was coordinated by Vision 2000 Cana­ da. Executive Director Don Moore estimates 35,000 - 40,000 stu­ dents participated in this year’s prayer meeting. The event in Southern Ontario was filmed for 100 Huntley Street. “When the camera crews left, I knew [the students] were not praying for the cameras,” he says. “Their prayers were so sincere.” Attendance ranged from four or five students in some locations to a couple of hundred, and spanned junior high to university stu­ dents. In Winnipeg, even though the 19 young Christians at one high school met at 7:30 a.m., the prayer meeting still made an impact on other students. “The response was awesome,” says student coordinator Lorelle Biber, 16. Students walking by early in the morning asked her what they were doing. When she told them, “there was respect, not persecution. They wanted to know what we were praying for.” The experience “was really neat,” says the grade 12 student. “I had never done anything like that out in the open, but it felt cool.” So cool, in fact, that Biber and other students have decid­ ed to meet for prayer inside the school every Monday morning. The Winnipeg initiative is not the only one that has resulted in a decision to pray more regularly. A group in Saskatoon has decided to pray monthly, and one in Hamilton is considering hold­

ing a local Sec You At The Pole in February to kick off the next semester. Don Moore describes the prayer effort as not just a one-day event, “but a movement.” Three days before the event took place, teens in Bill Burrell’s youth group in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, came to him and asked if they were going to participate in the “See You At The Pole” prayer meeting. “I said, ’We sure will, if you want to, even if there’s only three or four of us.’ ” The teens got on the phone, called their friends, and on September 15 were “all shocked when 48 showed up.”

The national See You At The Pole organizer for Vision 2000 Canada, Steve Sparling, says, “We get this image that some­ how students aren’t interested in church and God and spiritual things. When [people] see them standing around the flag pole praying, it sends a different message.” Even in Moncton, New Brunswick, where other students tried to harass the nine Christian young people gathered around the flag pole, the youths remained undaunted. “We didn’t budge,” says 16-year-old student leader Heather Burke, who was hit by a stone tossed at the group. Praying together in public shows Christian students “that they can be a bit more open,” she says. “It shows that they can stand up for their beliefs.” Gathering Christians together “sort of unites us,” adds Heather Snow, 16, of Wetaskiwin. “I didn’t even know what other Chris­ tians there were in our school.” The difference went beyond fellow students to administration. One high school principal made a public announcement over the loud speaker thanking the student leader for organizing the pray­ er meeting and saying it put his faith back in students. To Moore, this says something about young people, “I think there’s probably a lot more depth [in teens] than we give them credit for.”

South African Community Pledges to Work for Peace DURBAN, South Africa — Increasing violence in South Africa, fuelled by ethnic and politi­ cal differences and at times agitated by govern­ ment forces, has killed thousands in recent years. On August 1, however, rival factions in the nearby Black settlement of Malukazi took an historic step toward peace. Leaders of the lo­ cal African National Congress and Inkatha Freedom Party signed a peace pact, rejecting the violence that continues to tear apart other South African communities. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) South African country representatives Leona and Peter Penner, serving with the Network of Independent Monitors, observed the event. The Penners, of Winnipeg, Man., are mem­ bers of the Aberdeen Evangelical Mennonite Church in Winnipeg. “We’ve come here today to bury, not peo­ ple, but rather, the killing and the conflict that has torn this community apart,” Steven Mnisi, of the Malukazi African National Congress, told those gathered. “Let all of us join hands in peace,” exhort­ ed Sydney Mncwango, of the Malukazi Inkatha. He said the international monitors’ presence was “a challenge to us not to de­ stroy this peace as we prepare to enter Canaan.” The peace pact signing was the product of months of negotiations, involving more than 250 meetings. Decades of suspicion and aniOCTOBER 22, 1993

mosity, fostered by apartheid policies, have divided the African National Congress and the Inkatha Freedom Party. MCC workers note the local leaders of these two parties risked their lives to work for peace. The leaders committed themselves and their supporters to bring peace to the community, including agreeing to free and open political activity, equal access to schools and other fa­ cilities and to ensure that weapons are not car­ ried with “unlawful intent.” The peace pact outlined ways to resolve dis­ putes, and established a committee to inves­ tigate “transgressors of the letter and spirit” of the peace pact and a community develop­ ment group. The crowd cheered as the leaders signed the pact. “It was clear that the ’ordinary’ people of the Malukazi community were ready to celebrate this visible sign of peace,” noted Leona. Elderly women pirouetted barefoot in the sand, while exuberant young boys raced their bikes through the crowds. Tiny tots clanged empty coke cans in rhythm with their clapping parents. Budding entrepreneurs hawked fried chicken. After the peace pact was signed, “a highspirited and good-natured” soccer match be­ tween members of the African National Con­ gress and the Inkatha Freedom Party took place. The crowd swarmed onto the field each time a goal was scored, not really caring who

won but celebrating each good play, accord­ ing to Leona. “This was a great event at which to represent the Network of Independent Moni­ tors. Instead of being expected to impartially monitor a potentially violent event that divid­ ed a community, we could enter into the celebrations wholeheartedly,” noted Leona. The Penners are on call to monitor events in the Durban area one weekend each month. (From a report by Leona Penner, MCC South Africa) Full-time Creative Person with writing skills wanted immediately Desirable qualifications: • good knowledge of German • computer knowledge • ability to edit and proofread • ability to translate from English to German • a good eye for layout • photography

Send applications with resume and refer­ ences to: Search Committee Die Mennonitische Post Box 1120, Steinbach, MB ROA 2A0

Die Mennonitische Post is an MCC Canada project.

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The Management of Grief by Joe Bayly DEATH IS A WOUND lo the living. Months after our cightccn-year-old son died, the sight of a boy’s arm resting on the sill of a car window up ahead was enough to make me pull over 10 the side of the road because 1 could no longer see to drive. A friend lost her husband after a few years of marriage. Years after he died, she told us that she could still be moved with fresh grief by witnessing a total stranger perform an act of care and thought fulness for his wife. These responses lo death are normal, or at least, normal for a person who deeply loved the one who died. Il could be said that any natural response to death i.s proper and healthy; any unnatural one may delay the healing process and be potentially dangerous. But what is a natural response? Grief. Tears. An overwhelming sense of loss. Desire to be alone, or to have social contacts severely restricted. For some — including the very religious — it may be to question God’s wisdom, even His love. When Job lost his children, his possessions, and his health, he “cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, ’...Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?’ ” Job’s wife, mother of the children who died, was even more direct, “Curse God and die!” she shouted at her husband. C. S. Lewis, brilliant apologist for the Christian faith, had an equally honest reaction to the wound of death. A bachelor until middle life, Lewis found near-ecstatic happiness and completion in his brief marriage to a woman who died of cancer a few years later. “O God, God,” wrote Mr. Lewis, “why did You take such trouble to force this creature out of its shell if it is now doomed to crawl back — to be sucked back — into it?” Thi.s sort of honesty doe.s not turn God away from us, but brings Him near. And it may hasten the healing process. Being brave, putting up a front, pretending that we have no problem may delay healing. Guilt i.s another natural response to death’s wound. All of us hurt the person we love, one way or another; we say sharp words, are inconsiderate and impatient, act selfishly. In life we have a chance to straighten things out with “I’m sorry, please forgive me,” with gifts and surprises and special acts of love. Death closes the door on making amends, opens the door to a flood of “If only...” thoughts. These thoughts are not necessarily related to major ways in which we hurt the one who died. They may be quite trivial. 1 remember a nagging feeling of guilt for month.s because I had procrastinated in framing and mounting a scenic mural in the room of a son who died, and never did get the job done. If we feel guilty, we must find forgiveness. We can’t say “I’m sorry” to the one who has died, but we can say it to God. King David, after he had been an accessory to the death of the husband of a woman with whom he had committed adultery, and after the infant son of the adulterous relationship had died, cried to God for forgiveness. The person who does not experience forgiveness, who continues after months of acute grief, to be filled with “Why didn’t I?” thoughts and “If only I could just have it all to do again” is in a potentially dangerous position. Dr. Eugene Kahn, Baylor Medical School authority in psychiatry, suggests that the solution to self-pity is to feel pity for someone else and move in the direction of helping that person. This sort of emotional investment may be a large part of the healing we need for death’s wound. Our thoughts will no PAGE 6

Hidden Talents The Lord has given each one of you Something special that you can do. You may not consider it a great thing But He can use it, blessing to bring Your fellow travellers on life’s way: A smile to smooth and brighten the day, Some tears to weep with the one in sorrow And words of comfort for tomorrow, A gentle touch of kindly caring, A listening ear in a time of sharing. Letters to write, cards to send. Flowers to give, time to spend Being a friend to a lonely one. And many kind deeds that can be done: A Bible verse or thought to share. Compassionate intercessory prayer, A poem to write, a song to sing. Music to play on key or string, A story to tell, a class to teach, A testimony, or a message to preach.

Hide not your talents, great or small. But use and share them, one and all That you may joy to others bring And glorify your Lord and King! L. Marie Enns

longer be on what might have been, nor on visiting a cemetery plot or keeping a room “just as it was the last time he or she was in it,” nor on our own pains and fears of death. We will be freed from bondage to the past to move in a meaningful forward direction. And when the wound.s of death begin to heal, most people find that their memory of the one who died is freed from sickbed and casket to recall the person she or he really was: laughing, frowning, encouraging, aging, working, playing, life-size. Excerpted from The Last Thing iVe Talk About (David C. Cook) by Joe Bayly who, before his death, served as president of David C. Cook. Used by permission of David C. Cook Publishing Co., Elgin, Illinois. THE MESSENGER

Missions SOUTH AFRICA

Praying for Peace Former enemies hug In order to reconnect on an emotional level before our upcoming home-leave in Novem­ ber and December, here are a few “notes” on events which have been part of our lives dur ing the last number of months. A story that brings hope to us in the midst of fear-wracked Natal, the South African province in which we live, is the amazing sto­ ry of the women of Bhambayi who live in what used to be Ghandi’s settlement near Durban. During the past year, this community has been the scene of ongoing violence resulting in 150 deaths. In an effort to restore peace, these brave women, organized by the Durban and District Council of Churches, marched into the strife torn shanty town last week to hold a prayer meeting. First, they knelt and prayed in an area occupied by the reds and then they knelt again near a clinic which “belonged” to the greens.

At that stage a miracle happened. Apparently, as the women sang and prayed, hundreds of people from opposing sides be­ gan pouring onto the streets. Former “enemies” began to greet and hug each other, and later they chatted amicably during a soccer match which was held in what previously was a no­ man’s land between the two divided areas. Peace monitors and security force members were “stunned” at the transformation they wit­ nessed, as were friends of ours, Richard Steele and Anne McKay, who visited the area the next day. Somebody referred to the occasion as a “Pentecost experience.” We thank God for this story and others that are clear evidence of a deep hunger for peace within the ordinary people of South Africa. All we really need is for powerful politicians to lay aside their greed for personal prestige in favour of working for the people rather than against them. On a more personal level, we are quite busy these days with getting things done for our home-leave, as well as organizing the Southern Africa Coordinating Group meetings in Dur-

Ciriaco and Dolores selling food at the corner of the old marketplace. PARAGUAY

At the Marketplace Spreading the Message Ciriaco and Dolores get up early in the morning to make their chipa to be sold at the busy corner of the old marketplace in Caaguazu. At about 5 a.m. they turn their radio to Horizonte, one of the local FM stations: “You are in tune with Ministerio Buenas Nueuas (MBN) and here is the Good News from the Word of God,” William announces in the sweet Guarani language, introducing Toribio Franco with another five-minute evangelistic message. Ciriaco and Dolores are Christians and rpembers of the Caaguazu church. But some of the non-Christians they meet at work will have listened too. They may even have a chance to talk to them about it, have them listen to a similar message on cassette, give them some literature or en­ courage them to enroll in a Bible study at our MBN bookstore. They are glad to be part of the EMC ministries. Of course, this is only one glimpse of what MBN is all about. We presently air 100 programs a week over eight local stations. Many of the programs are in Spanish and are sent to us from producers OCTOBER 22, 1993

ban. Our two-week trip to Botswana and Lesotho went well, though we returned feel­ ing somewhat exhausted after sleeping in a great variety of beds and in many exotic places! We especially enjoyed our trip to Ghanzi (a Kalahari Desert town) to visit MCC workers Galen and Twila Sauder, who are doing very fine work in helping to train Basarwa preschool teachers who teach at various Bush­ men settlements in the Desert. The Peacemaker Festival in Gaborone in late August (sponsored by MCC), which fo­ cused on Botswana peace and justice issues such as domestic violence, AIDS, alcoholism and ethnic discrimination, was a very worth­ while event, which may be emulated in other southern African countries in the future. We look forward to seeing many of you on “that side” in a few weeks from now. Leona and Peter Penner The Penners are planning to leave Durban on October 21 and, after a few days in Rome, should be arriving in Toronto November 3 and in Winnipeg around November 9.

Toribio Franco preaching at the new marketplace.

like Luis Palau or Maria Miranda. We simply add our local address to it and invite listeners to ask for our Bible study courses, etc. Some of the programs in Guarani and German require more preparation. For this we now we have our own recording studio at the MBN Center in Caaguazu and are able to produce programs in stereo. Lately a few of the Christians in Caaguazu have started to see the tremendous opportunity this media provides in reaching out to specific groups. Fausto is one of them. He is a teacher in Santa Teresa and his involvement with Indian children motivates him to produce radio programs for children in Guarani. Do people respond to our programs? Some respond directly, ask ing for help or a Bible course. Most of the letters we receive are from the German Mennonite colonies nearby. Even if no outsider is yet allowed to preach in these colonies, many just absorb our three week ly German programs, ask for the messages on cassette or buy books from our bookstore. Now they are asking for a youth program. Who will make it? What an opportunity! The Latin people respond more indirectly, or not at all. This morn­ ing. though, we received a phone call from a lady about 100 km away, just to tell us that she appreciates our programs. Others come in (continued on page 8) PAGE 7

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Benny Goertzen in the MBN radio studio

Chris Kroeker in the controi room

(Paraguay, continued)

to our bookstore and look around, as if they were searching for some­ thing. Sara and Erna make it a point to "look at these people be­ yond the books." That is how we got in contact with Oscar. A few years ago Oscar left his address at our MBN Center and asked for a visit. In the meantime, he took our Bible study course, handled by the bookstore. Only after a year we found his place. (If you have been out here you will understand why.) He had discon­ tinued his lessons because he did not understand what "repentance” was all about. This visit was what he needed. Soon he was back at the bookstore for another lesson and each time he also took along a Christian book from our library and read it all in a few days. Another year has passed, and last Monday I met with him personally. He says he now understands what repentance is and that he has received Jesus into his heart. Has he told anyone else? Not yet. But he has invited us for a video showing to their youth group in their small Catholic church. We plan to be there the second Sunday in October. In the meantime, he has promised to join the youth meeting in

Choosing the right program

our church in Caaguazu. Not all contacts made through the radio programs can be followed up directly from the MBN Center. More and more churches and in­ dividual members like Ciriaco and Dolores take advantage of these contacts to witness to people and to pray for them. It is our goal to train the churches in how to be involved in follow-up work. We also meet listeners in occasional video presentations or pub­ lic preaching, as was the case when Toribio Franco recently visited Caaguazu. A cassette recorder was set up as a PA system at the new marketplace, where many people gathered, and literature was handed out. In a short time we had a crowd around us. Toribio preached with authority. After 20 minutes, he made an altar call and prayed with those who had raised their hand. The Gospel was be­ ing brought to the people where they are — at the marketplace — just like the radio programs, and we are part of it. 'You too are part­ ners in the EMC radio and cassette ministry in Paraguay. Benny Goertzen

NICARAGUA

Saturday Mennonite Bible Institute Student Testimonies The Saturday Bible Institute is proving to fill a great need in the training of church lead­ ers in Nicaragua. The school is partly subsi­ dized by the EMC Board of Missions. Many of the students, eager to attend classes and learn, do so in spite of unbelievable obstacles. Here are excerpts from the testimonies of four of the students: Nicolas Sequeira Brizuela I am a single young person of 23 years of age. Shortly after I accepted my Saviour on December 26, 1992, 1 was chosen to study in the Saturday Mennonite Bible Institute in Managua. To get to the place where the class­ es are held, I have to travel a day by foot, crossing rivers and gorges, as well as long difficult stretches. I am thankful for this opportunity to study, even though I have a lot of difficulties with the money for travel because 1 don’t work for any­ one. I appreciate your efforts because you have done a lot to be able to transmit these rich studies to us. Brethren, I ask for your prayers so that 1 can continue to study so that I will be able to teach others and transmit all that I have learned to the rest of my brethren. PAGE 8

Gerardo Chavarria 1 have a lot of difficulties in my studies be­ cause I am poor and 1 don’t have a steady job where I earn money. I am one of the pastors of the Fraternity of Mennonite Churches and I need to continue studying to be able to bet­ ter teach in the church because the church is lacking in teaching. Because 1 live in Masaya, I have to leave at five in the morning to get to class, and don't get home until three in the afternoon. 1 am in­ terested in continuing my studies, but at times because of my poverty, I have to struggle to get enough for my family, because as a lead­ er I also need to give a good example in my home, as well as in the church. 1 am looking to God so that He will help me not get discouraged in these studies. The Pastoral Council has helped to pay my tuition this year, but I don’t know if they will be able to help me next year. Jose Dolores Salgado I started in this Bible school in February 1993, and it has been of great importance to my life and to the work of the church. In spite of great financial difficulty, we are expending great effort, because we see the importance

of these studies. We are studying church his­ tory and hermeneutics (how to interpret the Bible). Each time we arc in class we feel that we are better prepared to serve our Saviour. Another brother and I from the rural com­ munity of Colama travel a couple of hours by foot. Brethren, pray for us so that we will be able to continue the studies until we finish. Also pray for us because the economic situa­ tion that Nicaragua is in is very difficult. Pray for our wives and children. May the Lord bless you all. Fidelina Castillo Castro This year I am studying, thanks be to God, and the Dorcas Sisters have been helping me with the trips and the monthly payments. I would like to continue studying, but I am not sure whether they will be able to continue to help me. The situation seems to be getting worse every day in Nicaragua. But I trust God that He will not leave us, because He is very merciful. My purpose is to continue studying so that I can help others with what I am learning. If it wasn’t for the support of the brethren I would not be able to continue, because I am a poor lady and I don’t have any money, not even for transportation. I am trying to finish off my year THE MESSENGER

Messenger News i

APPROVED UNTO GOD

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Mennville, Man.: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” With the beginnings of new classes and courses, may our motive always be that of seeking God’s favour, obeying His will and searching the Scriptures diligently, as the Bereans of Acts 17 did. In June, the following young people from our church family graduated from high school: Lori Barkman, Lynn Barkman, Pat Barkman, Jua­ nita Harms, Janelle Klassen, Jeff Kehler, Karl Kroeker, Brenda Blais and Delores Reimer. Some have entered the work force, while others have chosen to continue their studies. Lori Barkman, Lynn Barkman, Delores Reim­ er, Daryl Barkman, Brenda Blais, Kenton Barkman, Layton Friesen, and Lendra Fries­ en are attending SBC. Marty Friesen is study­ ing at PRBI and Nathan Kroeker, Karl Kroeker, Jolyn Barkman and Eloah Barkman are at the University of Manitoba. In addition to the above, Dwight and Lor­ na Plett left recently for Texas, where they will participate in a three-month training period. This will be followed by an assignment with YWAM. We will miss them. Lorna spent the last four years on staff at our local Christian school and Dwight was active in Sunday school work and music. His playing and sing­ ing of many self-composed solos blessed many. They also did a commendable job in the Leadership Development program at Beaver Creek Bible Camp. August 22 was a highlight in our congrega­ tion as nine teens obeyed the Lord’s instruc-

Baptism at the Mennville church. Left to right: Pastor Ernest Reimer, Ricky Friesen, Merle Kroek­ er, Jeremy Hiebert, Alysia Kroeker, Crystal Barkman, Linda Reimer, Charlene Hiebert, Theresa Brandt, Andrea Barkman.

tion regarding baptism. What joy, thankfulness and encouragement such an event brings! It also brings added responsibil­ ity in terms of nurturing these new members. A new deacon couple, Ed and Helen Harms, was elected in August. As you join the ministerial team and carry out the Lord’s man­ date for your position, we pray for God’s wis­ dom and guidance.

OCTOBER 22, 1993

Carol Hiebert

MCC WORKERS LEAVE FOR ASSIGNMENT Morris, Man.: Hello from Morris Fellowship Chapel! Summer has come and gone, so I will highlight a few of the events that took place in our church throughout the summer. On Mother’s Day the young people cooked a noon meal for all the church, to raise funds

LET THE CHILDREN COME...

Fisher Branch, Man.: Thank God for chil­ dren and for volunteer workers! “Let the little children come unto me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these” (Matthew 19:14). This year we taught Vacation Bible School in our church basement and had an enrollment of 40 chil­ dren, ages 4-13. Pastor Edward Friesen taught the lesson stories on the life of Joseph (to the whole group). Luella Hartog was in charge of memory work and Daphne Plett led the sing­ ing. For crafts the whole group enjoyed work­ ing together building a tabletop scene on the life and times of Joseph. This project was coordinated by Loreen Reimer and they kept adding new features each evening. Darcy Plett and Reg Dueck organized outdoor sports for the mid-evening break. Snacks were provid­ ed by volunteers nightly. Many volunteers helped with music, crafts and whatever was needed. A special time of prayer before each session proved to be a real source of strength to the

Junia Loewen from Blumenort has begun duties as the new primary teacher at our Chris­ tian school. We look forward to her contribu­ tions to our community. Enrollment presently stands at 54 students. Until next time — “Study to show thyself approved unto God...”

r Christopher Beaudette graduated from Cra­ dle Roll at the Fisher Branch church Sunday school promotion on September 5.

workers. It was a tremendous encouragement to see non-church parents bring their children to a Christ-centered meeting. Many of them sat and listened the entire evening and also helped as needed. Truly the Lord hears and answers prayers in marvellous ways! Loreen Reimer Reporter: Rose Plett

to go to Abundant Springs. Seven people went from our church, including our pastor and his wife. It was a time of spiritual growth for those who attended. On Sunday, June 6, our annual Sunday school picnic took place at the St. Jean Park. God answered prayers for a beautiful day. The races, ballgames, visiting and a barbecue sup­ per were enjoyed by all. James and Arietta Boulton have gone to Akron, PA, to work for MCC for two years. A commissioning service was held for them on August 22 in the morning service, followed by a farewell lunch enjoyed by about 125 peo­ ple. James and Arietta left September 1 for their assignment; Arietta will be doing secretar­ ial work and James will be working in the mail room. We praise the Lord for the way He has an­ swered our prayers regarding Abe Klassen’s open-heart surgery on August 9. We thank all those who prayed for him. We give God all the praise and glory for what He has done in our lives. We could not have gone through the surgery and recovery period without the pray­ ers of our fellow Christians. Praise the Lord for Christian friends and a church family that stands behind us at times like these! On August 19 and 20 twelve young peo­ ple, together with our pastor and his wife, went to Spruce Woods for an overnight camp-out and spiritual renewal in God’s great outdoors. Helen Klassen

PAGE 9

Rosenort

Fellowship

Chapel

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Mass choir led by Helen Reimer

THE CHURCH IN TRANSITION Rosenort (Man.) Fellowship: Finally the day had come. A small committee had worked feverishly in preparation, while a congrega­ tion waited in anticipation. It was in a sense somewhat unreal, the fact that 25 years had slipped by almost unaccounted for. For the charter members of the church, the 17 of the 44 who remained, it was a day of mixed feelings — a day of nostalgia and a day of celebra­ tion, remembering the events of some 25 years ago. The morning service was highlighted by a mass choir. Some charter members sang and were joined by their children. Together with them were others who had joined the church as the years progressed, also singing with their children. Various churches and organizations brought greetings and congratulations. Pastor Derksen preached on a church in transition, using the illustrations of a couple who reach their 25th anniversary and the events recorded in Acts 15. It was a time to visit old friends and reminisce about the past, a time to catch up on what was happening in lives and what God was doing. The afternoon was left open for visiting and resting. Faspa started the evening activities. This service began with, not a traditional choir, but a praise and worship group, complete with guitars and drums. The rest of the musical specials included some groups that had sung many years ago — a men’s choir and a num­ ber of soloists of all ages. Jeff Brandt, a third-generation member of the church, brought the evening devotional, speaking to the es-

Traditional Mennonite fellowship — around a table.

PAGE 10

Tyson Eidse, youngest soloist of the evening, with his father, Dan Eidse.

sence of real fellowship. Time was given for reminiscing for all present and the evening concluded with a slide show, portraying both the serious and lighter side of church life, just as life is a mix of the seri­ ous and the lighthearted. All in all, we at Rosenort Fellowship Chapel recognize the faithful­ ness of God in the giving of His wisdom and strength in what was a new and risky venture 25 years ago. We are counting on His wis­ dom and strength in the years ahead as well. Michael Derksen

Helen Reimer, Ann Funk, Laura Siemens

Dick Zacharias leading the men’s choir.

THE MESSENGER

Celebrates

25th

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L to r: 1. Anne Hildebrandt, widow of Melvin Dueck (the first pastor of the church) bringing greetings; 2. Gerald Hamm, youth pastor at the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel from 1986-87; 3. Sharalee Zacharias; 4. One of the charter members, Syd Reimer, reminiscing.

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L to r: 1. Stan Plett, president of SBC and former pastor of the Rosenort Fellowship Chapel, bringing greetings; 2. Kim Kroeker, Dorothy Schapansky, Susan Zacharias; 3. Jeff Brandt, third-generation member, giving the devotional.

VBS REPORTS

»

Pelly, Sask.: Summer has come and gone for another year but the memories linger on. As usual, VBS was a highlight for our people in Pelly and in the Arabella area. Phyllis Dyck has reported on this year’s Arabella VBS: “We say Shalom when we meet each other every day. We say Shalom when we get together just to play. We say Shalom so the peace of God will lead the way. We say Sha­ lom to say hello, Shalom to say goodbye. Sha­ lom, may you live in peace.” These were the words of the theme song at the “Amazing Journey to Bible Times” VBS held in the Arabella Fellowship Church. The church building became a beehive of activity during the week of August 2-6, when the neighbourhood children participated in sing­ ing, Bible stories, crafts and recreation. The Bible stories that the children heard were about Adam and Eve, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Isaiah and Paul, as well as how Jesus fulfilled God’s plan and how He will come again. God’s plans for the world began in Genesis and continued until Revelation. These were some of the interesting truths that were studied. The three classes were taught by Twyla Goertzen (Preschoolers), Doreen Goertzen and Lori Braun (Primary) and Phyllis Dyck (Juniors). Other helpers included Erna Goert­ zen and Kelvin Dyck. The total number of registered students reached 35. It was an extra special treat to have the EMC Summer Ministry team serve during this VBS week. Wendy Schlamp, Maria Doerksen and Tamara Friesen participated in the mus­ ic and the skits depicting Murray-in-a-hurry, OCTOBER 22, 1993

M.C. Scriber and Sassy Wantalot. The clos­ ing program on Friday afternoon culminated the week and brought out a good crowd. Phyllis Dyck Our VBS in Pelly was well attended; we had 28 children enrolled and all seemed to enjoy the new curriculum, “Celebration Park.” It was fun to celebrate Christmas, Easter, Thanks­ giving, birthdays and Valentine’s Day all in one week, and learn how important we are to God. Our closing program was well attended and the children showed lots of enthusiasm! Our missionary “project” was Tim, Laurel and Rylan Schroder. We enjoyed seeing an excerpt of a video they sent, and the children brought over $70.00 in offerings for them. The EMC Summer Ministry team was an added bonus to our VBSers. The three girls helped all week in Arabella, while the guys helped out in Pelly. Besides helping with VBS,

they also ministered in our Sunday morning service, put on a program at the seniors’ lodge, participated in a youth/adult bailgame and shared at a wiener roast at the home of John and Mary Dyck. It was an encouragement to me to see young people committed to serving the Lord and enjoying it! It was certainly refreshing! Several of our children and youth attended Ketchen Lake Bible Camp during July. Karla Abrahamson counselled for three weeks, which proved to be a rewarding experience for her. Karla is in her first year at Nipawin Bible Institute and her sister Robin is in her final year at Providence College. Congratulations to Valeric and Julian Andrusiak, who celebrated 25 years of marriage this summer! We as a church family enjoyed dedicating an evening service in their honour. The cake was terrific too! Linda Vader

INAUGURATION FOR PASTORAL COUPLE St. Vital, Man.: On October 3 we gathered to celebrate a very special occasion. Follow­ ing a potluck supper, we met to inaugurate Al and Laura Friesen into full-time ministry. Af­ ter an inspirational time of singing praises to God, many people shared about the positive impact Al and Laura have had on their lives and affirmed them in their choice to enter fulltime ministry. Al and Laura have been our pastoral cou­ ple since the beginning of our church (official­ ly April 1990). Until this fall, however, Al has worked full-time as a teacher, as well as giv­ ing many hours to preaching, counselling and leading seminars. Recently, this arrangement

has challenged Al’s supply of time and ener­ gy so, with God’s guidance, a new role has been developed. Al and Laura’s new ministry involves a pastoral role and an outreach role. Pastoral duties will occupy one third of their time, and the other two thirds will be devoted to out­ reach. Al’s outreach ministry consists of semi­ nars, speaking to young people, counselling and development of parenting and Christian education resource material. We ask you to join our congregation in praying for this new ministry. Lyndon Olfert PAGE 11

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Sunday school promotion was held at the High Level church on Sep­ tember 12.

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A beautiful lake for canoeing

GIVING THANKS A testimony —

Swift Current, Sask.: Thanksgiving — the time of year when almost all Canadians pause for one day (at least for one meal) and give thanks. This Thanksgiving I have much to be thankful for. On Friday, October 1, our church celebrat­ ed early with a delicious turkey supper and an evening of singing, praise and testimony. Not so long ago 1 would have laughed at the idea of spending a Friday night in church, of all places! Weekends were reserved for bar­ hopping and parties — drinking, dancing and carousing. Church attendance was reserved for weddings, funerals, baptisms and an oc­ casional Sunday morning, just for good measure. 1 spent the first 25 years of my life in fear — fear of the dark, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection and mostly fear of death. 1 tried to ward off the fear. I’d try to be good, but I knew no matter how hard 1 tried, it was never PAGE 12

High Level, Alta.: Greetings from snowcovered High Level! August was a busy month, with family camp and a couple of 5-Day Clubs. The 5-Day Clubs are like a backyard one-hour-a-day VBS. where we try to reach the neighbour­ hood non-churched kids. This is the second year we have held these and, although it’s a busy week for the teachers, the rewards are many. We praise the Lord for the children who have asked Jesus into their hearts through this outreach. In September we dived headlong back into care groups, ladies’ Bible coffees, Sunday school and TEE classes. “Lord, we pray that all this knowledge and learning will sink down from our heads into our hearts. Help us ap­ ply these things to our everyday lives so that your light can shine brighter to those around us. In all our busyness and activities, help us to remember that this is why we are here — to reach others and tell them of your saving grace. Amen.” Gert Knelsen

High Level Church Family Camp. Camp own­ ers had double-booked, but instead of going home, we chose to drive a few more miles to Queen Elizabeth Park. This sign let latecomers know where we were.

good enough, especially for God. I tried alco­ hol and drugs but they only suppressed the fear. When I sobered up, the fear returned, ac­ companied by guilt and shame. By 26 I was married to a man who loved and provided well for me. We had a daughter and a son, good jobs, a nice home and were surrounded by friends and family. Why then, did I feel so lost, so empty, so hopeless, so alone? On September 3,1983, a miracle occurred in my life and in our home. Outward appear­ ances did not reveal my desperation, but in­ side 1 had hit rock bottom. On that night Myles was at work, the children were occupied and 1 worked in the kitchen with the television tuned to a Billy Graham crusade. That night the Holy Spirit drew me to Himself and there on our living room floor, crouched in front of the TV, 1 gave my heart to Jesus. Immediate­ ly, the weight was lifted from my shoulders. At last 1 had found what 1 was looking for — PEACE! When Myles came home 1 told him what I’d

done. I was embarrassed because I didn’t ful­ ly understand it. I did not have the privilege of being raised in a Christian home, complete with Sunday school. Pioneer Clubs, summer camps, VBS or youth group. My religious training consisted of sporadic attendance in various non-evangelical churches where we could only “hope” that if we were baptized when we were young, later confirmed, if we were good enough, tried hard enough and prayed the right prayers — then surely God would let us into heaven, wouldn’t He? Although not all my questions were an­ swered when I accepted the Lord, I’m thank­ ful that He has given me assurance, quiet and calm assurance that I know I’m going to heaven. This Thanksgiving I give thanks for Jesus, salvation, divine forgiveness and the promise He’s given me that some day I will be with Him in heaven. I give thanks for a husband who loves and provides for me beyond what I could ever hope to deserve. I am thankful that God has given Myles the strength and wisdom to

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THE MESSENGER

teach me so many things. Pm thankful for commitment to the Lord. She was later bapShari and Sheldon and the priceless lessons' tized and joined the Evangelical Mennonite only children can teach me about uncondition- Church (then the Kleine Gemeinde) in Steinal love, life and patience. bach. This initial commitment was strong and I give thanks for a church and my in-laws, continued to strengthen over the years as she who have become my family in every sense grew in her faith. of the word. I have acquired a multitude of Mom and Dad were married on November brothers and sisters in the Lord, of all ages 23,1941, settling down for the first few years and stages in life, and I am grateful for each in a small house east of Steinbach. Children act of kindness displayed toward me — a came soon, and over the years seven girls and phone call, note of encouragement, handshake five boys were born, grew up and got married, or gentle hug. Pm thankful for friends who ac- Mom has left us an example of what it cept me as I am and graciously allow me the means to be a devoted wife and mother. She privilege of being “me” to them and their chil- faithfully served the family — cooking, doing dren. 1 give thanks for those who have shown laundry, mending, canning, cleaning and confidence in me by encouraging and allow- preparing our lunches for school, all tasks ing me the opportunity to minister in so many necessary in raising twelve children. Mealtime ways in the church. Thanks be to God for was an especially busy time when she often providing us such special “spiritual parents,” served until all had eaten. Then she would sit Lester and Darlene Olfert, who have been in- down at the table to relax and enjoy a lukestrumental in forming and shaping our lives, warm cup of coffee. Pm thankful that, although we’ve encountered One memory of Saturday night, after all the some extremely difficult times of trial and test- work was done, is the evening snack of hot ing, the Lord has walked alongside and, when brown bread with butter and a glass of milk, necessary. He has lifted us up and carried us. As the family grew. Mom often wondered I give thanks for my family. Even though no whether the next meal would be ready and one in my family — my mother, two sisters, whether it would be enough. As children, we two brothers, sisters- and brothers-in-law, nor never noticed, because we felt the constant my 16 nieces and nephews — is living for the love and care from her. Lord, I do give thanks to them and the very One aspect of her care was shown by her important part they continue to play in our willingness to listen. She has listened to many lives. It is far from easy and I usually feel like of her children’s frustrations about work, a misfit among them, but 1 do give thanks to school and friends. She simply let us have our God for allowing me to be a part of their life say, without much comment, and we went on too. I give thanks for the partial restoration to other things, feeling much better, of our daughter back into our family, although Mom especially showed commitment in her the Lord has not erased the pain in our lives care of Dad during his seven years of illness, caused by rebellion, separation and an untime- At first Mom cared for him at home and when ly departure from home. God alone can un- he went to the Personal Care Home she faithderstand the agony of despair, helplessness fully visited him every day, becoming an enand defeat and the joy which comes from her couragement not only to Dad and the children tiny steps of growth and maturity. but to many others in the Home. Today I can truly say as Joel 2:25 says, “I Mom was a private person who enjoyed bewill repay you for the years the locusts have ing at home. She would rather be a hostess eaten.” I am indeed thankful that, although the to her friends and family at her own home than first 25 years of my life were as good as wast- to visit elsewhere. Often when she did go visit­ ed (eaten by the locusts), the Lord has given ing, she was planning when to go home as me a hundredfold — more than I could ever soon as she arrived (and maybe before she left hope or ask for. home). As the family grew and left home. Mom had Cindy Penner more time to read and nurture her curiosity. She read many books that fed her spiritually. LINDA THIESSEN She faithfully listened to many Christian ra­ 1921-1993 dio broadcasts. Plaques on monuments were Linda Thiessen passed away on September meant to be read; museums were meant to 13,1993, at the Bethesda Hospital at the age be savoured; newspapers were meant to be of 72 years, after having suffered from cancer read from front to back (except for the for three months. Her comics). husband, Frank, We will remember Mom as a dedicated, passed away on Sepfaithful, loyal wife and mother. To her this was tember 13, 1992. all a part of her commitment to the Lord. Mom was born near I Mom leaves to cherish her memory, the chilSteinbach on March | ' dren: Donald and Minna Thiessen (Steinbach), 21,1921, and received Beverly and Dennis Barkman (Steinbach), her education at the Frank and Levina Thiessen (Steinbach), BriEkron School. This an and Eileen Thiessen (Steinbach), Carol and started her on a lifetime * Wilbert Friesen (Kola), Peter and Helen Friesof continuing education through reading and en (Niverville), Peter and Susan Thiessen radio listening. (Harlan, Kentucky), Rodney and Amelie ThiesWhen Mom was in her teens, she made a sen (Steinbach), Josephine and John Dueck OCTOBER 22, 1993

(Calgary), Sharon and Jones Reimer (Stein­ bach), Laura and Gordon Penner (Steinbach), Brenda and Andrew Friesen (Steinbach). She is also survived by 32 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren and 10 brothers and sis­ ters: Elizabeth Dueck, Albert Toews, Ed Toews, Gustav Toews, Anne Winkler, Walter Toews, Harvey Toews, Bill Toews, Joe Toews and Dorothy Sobering. She was predeceased by her husband, Frank, daughter Helene and two grand­ children. We thank all of our friends for their support. We are especially grateful to the staff of the Bethesda Hospital in Steinbach for their ex­ cellent care of Mom in the last three months. The Lord has given and the Lord has taken away. Praise be to the Lord!

Births BERGEN - to Mary and Dave Bergen of Winnipeg, Man., a son. Levi, on July 2, 1993. NIEBUHR - to Rudy Niebuhr and Maureen Klippen­ stein of Winnipeg, Man., a daughter, Kathryn, on September 3, 1993. SIEMENS - to Anthony and Jennifer Siemens of Rosenort, Man., a son, Nathan Anthony, on Oc­ tober 1, 1993. FEHR - to Amos and Wendy Fehr of Riverside, Man., a son, Justin Daniel, on September 15,1993. REIMER - to Joe and Kathy Reimer of Morris, Man., a daughter, Kimberly Anne, on June 27, 1993. HARDER - to Peter and Ann Harder of Lowe Farm, Man., a daughter, Rebecca Lynn, on April 16,1993. SIEMENS - to Allen and Marlene Siemens of Mor­ ris, Man., a daughter, Heidi Pamela Marie, on Au­ gust 10, 1993. BARKMAN - to Darrel and Bertha Barkman of Steinbach, Man., a daughter. Tiffany Dawn, on Oc­ tober 3, 1993. QUIRING - to Neil and Anne Quiring of High Lev­ el, Alta., a son, Kenneth Riley, on September 17, 1993.

Weddings DYCK - FEHR: Arny, son of John and Anne Dyck of High Level, Alta., and Lisa, daughter of Jake and Mary Fehr of Prespatou, B.C., were married on July 17, 1993. The wedding took place in Prespatou, with Richard Klassen of High Level officiating. The couple is making their home in High Level. FRIESEN - HEINRICHS: James, son of Benny and Annie Friesen of Rosenort, Man., was married on October 2, 1993, to Tamara, daughter of Don and Alvina Heinrichs of Rosenort. The wedding took place at the Rosenort EMC, with Benny Friesen of Rosenort officiating. The couple is residing in Rosenort. KLASSEN - MARTENS; Byron, son of Frank and Jessie Klassen of Morris, Man., and Tammy, daugh­ ter of John and Susan Martens of Lowe Farm, Man., were married at the Morris Fellowship Chapel on July 3, 1993. Ward Parkinson of Morris officiated. The couple is making their home in Morris. PAGE 13

MCC Rejects Money From Lotteries WINNIPEG, Man. — An Alberta Govern ment decision to fund international relief and development projects with lottery revenues has prompted Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada to decide not to take funds from the province for its work overseas. MCC Canada’s decision not to accept the funds was made at the agency’s Executive Committee meeting, held September 17-18 in Winnipeg. MCC Alberta, which annually applies to the Alberta Agency for International Development (AAID) for provincial funds for the agency’s relief and development work overseas, received $24,(XX) this year from AAID. MCC Alberta had planned to ask for a similar amount for next year, which would be for­ warded to MCC Canada for use overseas. But on September 3 the province notified MCC Canada that the AAID was merged with the Wild Rose Foundation, an Alberta government lottery funded foundation. As a result, MCC Canada has decided not to take funds from the province. “The loss of the funding will hurt — we really count on that money," says Anne Harder of Winterburn, Alta., Chair of the MCC Alberta Board. “But we feel it’s very important to make a statement of principle against taking lottery money.’’ According to Jake Harder of Edmonton, who chairs the MCC Canada Board, “Mennonites in Canada have traditionally opposed gambling. By making this decision we are reflecting the wishes of our supporters.’’ As well, he says, the decision “will show support for our workers in Canada who work with poorer people who may be struggling to overcome addiction to gambling.” Harder acknowledges that it is hard for an agency like MCC, which receives other feder­ al and provincial government grants for its work overseas, “to know when money is ’clean.’ ” But, he says, “When we know it comes from a source we disapprove of, then we have to take some action” Dick Neufeld, who directs MCC’s work in Alberta, says he hopes that Albertans who support the agency’s decision “will help us make up the shortfall by donating to MCC.” Outspoken lottery critic Harold Jantz of Winnipeg praises MCC’s decision. “MCC deserves to be applauded,” says Jantz, who authored a brochure for the Canadian Con­ ference of Mennonite Brethren Churches, which is critical of government-sponsored lot­ teries. “Lotteries are socially regressive,” Jantz says. “They teach that people can expect a lot for a little, or gain great benefits for no work. As well, the temptation of lotteries is often greatest for those who can least afford it.”

IMCC Canada release)

PAGE 14

But

neither is getting polio or diphtheria. Every year MCC transports vaccine 150 kilometers to remote Bwadlorens. Haiti, so 300 children can be vaccinated against life-threatening diseases. Just 17 cents U.S./21 cents Cdn. moves the vaccines 1 kilometer; $25.50 U.S./ $32 Cdn. pays for the trip. Your gifts to MCC -- whether large or small -- help meet human need worldwide. Consider helping Haitian children stay healthy (mark your contribution B918-40) or assist with one of the following projects.

-•

GOD GIVE WHAT YOU CAN Water for more rice Of? n co MCC provides cement and advice to

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Indonesian farmers who want to build irngation dams to increase rice yields. S4 U.S./S5 Cdn. buys a sack of cement. Mark your contribution B709-31.

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Learning to serve Jobless youth in Cairo, Egypt, learn to lead Bible studies, and conduct camps and youth clubs through the Coptic Orthodox Church's deaconship program. S175 U.S./S219 Cdn. trains a youth for three months. Mark your contribution B853-70.

Hope and a home Abandoned, abused women and children in Calcutta. India, find shelter, counseling and |0b training at All Bengal Women's Union Home. S893 U.S./$1.116 Cdn. helps a homeless woman become self- suffic nt. Mark your contribution B708-60.

Mennonite Central Committee and MCC U.S. South i?th Sheet. PO Box -GO Akron, PA 17501 0500 (717)859 1151 (717)850 .1889

Mennonite Central Committee Canada l.w f’l-iz.i Drive. Wmnipey. MB H3t 5K9 (2041 20, 6881

Public's Response Sought on Young Offenders Act The federal Department of Justice is re­ examining the Young Offenders Act and is in­ viting the public's response. The Act was passed in 1984, replacing the Juvenile Delin­ quents Act, and was amended in 1986 and 1992. The Department’s consultation paper, released September 3, focuses mainly on vio­ lent and repeat offenders, issues which attract much public concern. After giving background information and statistics, the paper outlines issues of public concern relating to aspects of the Young Offenders Act, and lists arguments for and against amending the Act in each case. The issues dealt with include lowering the mini-

mum and maximum ages at which children are covered by the Young Offenders Act, chang­ ing the criteria for transferring young offenders to adult courts, and changing the criteria used to decide who should be sentenced to custody. The final section discusses the prevention of crime among young people, touching on early intervention, alternative sentencing, and preventing repeat offenses. Written comments may be sent to the Young Offenders Project, Department of Justice, 239 Wellington Street, Ottawa, On­ tario KIA 0H8, by November 15. (Ottawa Office of MCC Canada)

THE MESSENGER

Book =^,^1 Review

I

Family, Church and Market: A Mennonite Community in the Old and the New Worlds, 1850-1930. Royden K. Loewen. University of Toronto Press, 1993, 370 pp. Reuieived Dane Schellenberg. This book is unique because, to my mind, no one has ever attempted to analyze these three topics in the life of the Kleine Gemeinde church, which evolved in 1812 during the Mennonites’ first generation in Russia (today the Evangelical Mennonite Conference). The scope of the study involves first the Kleine Gemeinde in New Russia and then the Manitoba and Nebraska settlements in North America. In particular, the author wants to point out the similarities and contrasts be­ tween these two settlements which came from the same church background in Russia. It is a study of one small group of Mennonites, whose congregation in 1850 comprised only some 400 persons of a Russian Mennonite community of thirty thousand. The author begins by describing the lifestyle of the group in Russia in the later 1860s. “...Life remained rooted in the sectarian village and household and reflected a simple, selfsufficiency tied to nature’s cycles” (pp. 20 21). Before closing the Russian chapter, the author has something to say about the Kleine Gemeinde and Pietism. Pietism had become an accepted force in Mennonite society. The author explains it thus: “This religious system emphasized a more individualistic approach to God in which personal, not communal, responsibilities ordered one’s life; it encouraged a subjective relationship with God and a claim of personal assurance of salvation rather than a relationship tempered by corporate activity and ordered by a formalized catechism” (p.

51). Although the Kleine Gemeinde sought to deal with the religious forces of Pietism, it caused a deep schism when one local congre­ gation accepted baptism by immersion and founded a new group, the Krimmer Men nonite. Also, around this time, the special status given to foreign colonists in Russia was about to end. This had included military exemption, promised to the Mennonites when they moved to Russia, beginning around 1789. The upshot of this was that in 1873 a dele­ gation was sent to North America to look for

Liviiif, iftc ClirLstidii (ife is (ike a inaii sliaviiig. tHe mav ftave tfutiv a peijecl job yeslcrdav, but it must 6c (fotw again today. OCTOBER 22, 1993

new land settlement possibilities “...in order to work for freedom of our faith and a new homeland...” (p. 64). The delegates returned with a favourable report and in 1874 emigra tion began. One hundred and ten families settled in Manitoba and another 56 families went to Jefferson County in southeastern Nebraska. The Kleine Gemeinde set out to re-create their world, with continuity as their goal. Family relationships played a significant role in the pattern of the settlements in the new homeland. “Each of the larger villages in both Manitoba and Nebraska contained kinship groupings” (p. 94). And, notes the author, “...the particular place of residence was often dictated by women” (p. 99). The farm also was a family enterprise, as old letters reveal. Because funds had been brought along from Russia, farmers were able to build their farms at once. “...Both Manitobans and Nebraskans made purchases, broke land, and began marketing goods soon after settlement” (p. 115). Service centres and towns were beginning to emerge and Loewen compares Steinbach (Manitoba) and Jansen (Nebraska). By 1900 Steinbach had a population of 349, while Jan­ sen was slightly smaller, with 273. Although different, both helped to change the Kleine Gemeinde communities at these two locations. The chapter on Religious Upheavals reveals that religious strife experienced in Russia fol­ lowed them to North America, both in Manito­ ba and Nebraska. “Between 1880 and 1905, the Mennonite Kleine Gemeinde faced con­ stant challenges from progressive groups that were more in tune with North American soci­ ety” (p. 170). Among these were the Krimmer Mennonite, Holdeman and Bruderthaler. He goes on to scrutinize Farmers, Mer­ chants and Workers in the Evolving Market Economy of second generation Kleine Gemeinde descendants. The impact of the towns on social change is noted: “Merchants in Steinbach (Manitoba) and Jansen (Nebras­ ka) increasingly geared their business to meet the consumerist impulses of the people of a new age” (p. 207). Loewen also notes differ­ ences between town ladies and farm women. The final chapter makes the following ob­ servation: “The homogeneity of ideology, re­ ligious meaning, and social boundary maintenance that marked the first generation of Kleine Gemeinde settlers in North Ameri­ ca became undone in the years after 1905” (p. 237). The old Kleine Gemeinde “espoused a sim­ ple lifestyle, a social distance from the host society, humility to other members, and a cor­ porate approach to religious quest. Only at the end of the 1920s were there signs that the Kleine Gemeinde was losing ground and was beginning to emulate the ways of the more progressive Bruderthaler church” (p. 238). Over sixty pages of concluding notes and an extensive bibliography attest to the fact that a tremendous amount of time and research has gone into this study. The author is to be commended for a thorough work.

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IWMl • WBJ

Thiessen

Conference Castor

I Confess . . . that I have changed, that my opinion is different than 20 years ago,

that 1 no longer disagree, that 1 was wrong, that I would no longer say what I said then, that in some cases I would now say the complete opposite, and that sometimes I’m not sure when I was right about things like music, divorce/remarriage, church discipline, jewelry, head covering, choruses, children’s church and drums.

Let me tell you why I am saying this. I have frequently had someone tell me that years ago a pastor, leader or a father very strongly held to an opinion or a principle, only later to reverse that completely be­ cause of a family circumstance, a personal experience, or simply a change of mind. The problem these individuals had was not that a change had occurred in the leader, but that what had formerly been publicly advocated as an inflexible principle, was never withdrawn or explained publicly. All of us change, hopefully for the bet­ ter. As we grow older we soften some of our stances and become, generally, more tolerant. This can become confusing for those who are younger and who look up to leaders as examples of steadfastness. I realize that I could easily be misunder stood, so let me try to explain. I am not condoning a spineless, convictionless Christian life that is “tossed about by ev­ ery wind of doctrine.” When we receive new insights and change our mind we must be willing to admit it and be able to explain why. I believe we will not necessarily lose respect but in many cases will actually gain in credibility with our church, our students, our young people and our families. Royden K. Loewen teaches at the Univer­ sity of Manitoba and is the author of Blumenort: A Mennonite Community) in Tran­ sition. He and his wife, Mary Ann, have three children. The Loewens are members of the Blumenort EMC Church. The book is availa­ ble at several Steinbach locations: Hull’s Fa­ mily Bookstore, Die Mennonitische Post, Mennonite Heritage Village and Henry Arm­ strong.

PAGE 15

From the Editor Ambassadors of Encouragement SOONER OR LATER even the most cheerful person experiences discouragement. A sense of despondency may overtake us unexpectedly, or it may creep up on us gradually, engulfing us in a spirit of darkness and despair. It may last only a few moments or it may drag on for weeks at a time. The causes of discouragement are many: sharp criti­ cism, the loss of a job or source of income, the unexpect­ ed or untimely death of a loved one, betrayal by a friend, the birth of a handicapped child, boring work, a loved one wandering away from God. These are just a few ex­ amples of circumstances that bring us down and rob us of our joy and courage. Sometimes it is hard to pinpoint the exact cause of our dismal mood. Gloom was banished whenever Jesus appeared on the scene. “Let not your heart be troubled...,” He said. Above the noise of wind and waves He shouted, “Fear not!” His words, “Be of good cheer,” brought hope and comfort to worried hearts. His gentle touch conveyed healing to body and mind. Joseph, a believer in the early church in Jerusalem, knew how to cheer people up. The apostles nicknamed him Barnabas, which means “Son of Encouragement.” He encouraged Saul and got him started in the ministry. Bar­ nabas encouraged the new gentile believers in Antioch. He even gave John Mark, a missionary drop-out, a se­ cond chance when Paul had given up on him. The church needs more sons (and daughters) of en­ couragement. While it seems that some have been given a special gift of encouragement (Romans 12:8), every Christian should have a part in lifting the spirits of the discouraged. “Encourage each other,” Paul says (I Thes­ salonians 4:18). Encourage means to inspire, strengthen, reassure, im­ part courage or confidence. Helpful words and deeds are the media through which we encourage others. They can take many forms: a phone call, card, personal chat, hug. You may give a gift of flowers, candy, a dish of food or a meal, an offer to baby-sit or visit, a ride. If the conditions are right, it may involve sharing a suitable Scripture, psalm or hymn, pointing to the love and compassion of the Lord. “Who can cheer the heart like Jesus, by His presence all divine?” wrote Thoro Harris. In the last few weeks I have been greatly ministered to

PAGE 16

by words of encouragement from a number of sources. A card informed me that a ladies’ group had prayed for us at their meeting. Various people 1 talked to recently indi­ cated how they appreciated The Messenger. The mail brought a note several days ago in which a friend also af­ firmed and encouraged me. None of these people knew what inner struggles with discouragement I was engaged in during this period. The Holy Spirit must have nudged them to say and do what they did. What amazes me is that so many obeyed that voice within. The fog and gloom in my heart has lifted, thanks to the encouragement from fellow Christians. If anything, I believe this experience has caused me to become more aware of opportunities to pass on my en­ couragement to others. We used to sing a chorus, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing.” The message was “Pass it on!” It may require that we become quiet before the Lord long enough to understand who needs our words of cheer. It also requires the resolve to act when the urge comes. Often, I believe, we are reluctant to affirm someone be­ cause we fear it will make the recipient proud. Or we may think our words sound like mere flattery. Of course, we must be sincere and depend on the Lord to bless our ef­ forts to encourage. One of the greatest blessings God has given His follow­ ers is to be fellow members in the body of Christ. In this body each member is to be cared for by the others. When this is practised, the fallen are helped up, the weary are supported, the fearful are emboldened, and the grieving arc comforted — in the name of Christ. The writer to the Hebrews says, “Encourage one another daily” (3:13). Later he repeats the reminder, “Let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (10:25). Wouldn’t it be great if Christians were known as ambassadors of en­ couragement! I pray that the Lord will encourage your heart. As you begin to lift your eyes from the problems that oppress you toward the Lord Jesus Christ, I trust that you will realize the warmth of His love and unfailing presence. Abide in Him, His grace is deeper than your need. Menno Hamm

THE MESSENGER

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